Is everybody doing it?

According to a an article in Relevant Magazine, stats show that only 20% of Christians are virgins when they get marries as opposed to 12% of non-Christian people. We’re not that far along are we? In addition, 40% of Christians are in a current sexual relationship.

I don’t know how you want to slice it, but it seems that almost everybody’s doing it. I know most of my friends have been sexually active at some point, even though they are committed Christians now. It’s definitely crossed my mind, and opportunities passed by.

There is nothing to be proud of for sure. There may be some gray areas in Christianity, but this is not one of them. It’s in the ten commandments, it’s in the Gospels, it’s clear in the book: sex is reserved for marriage. No negotiations. There are some who want to change things around, and re-interpret the text, but any serious bible scholar – secular or Christian- will tell you that is the meaning of the text.

The question is how we got here? An article from CNN (again, nothing to be proud of) explains that with a more sexualized culture, explosion of porn and the average age of marriage going up, it’s something normal. I mean, back in the day girls got married by 16, not the average marriage age is 26 for girls and 28 for guys. Long time to fight lust, eh? It’s seems that the odds are against Christians, and fewer are maintaing their purity.

According to The Barna Group, lowering of cultural standards and a curving of moral standards are leading causes of this new phenomenon. A “feel-good” spirituality and lax approach to standars is not the best way to establish a habit or a lifestyle for that matter.

So where does this leave us? It seems that everybody’s doing it…

The truth is that you know the truth. The Book says what it does, and there’s no questions about it. The question is what will you do about it? It’s not easy to go against the flow culture, and you might even be made fun of, a la “The 40 year old virgin.” Regardless, I believe that fighting for virtue is always right. In the end, we’re either Christians who go by the Book, or we must throw it all out. And let’s not deceive ourselves… despite the Hollywoodian idilic view of romance and one-night-stands, consequences exit. And so do STD’s and AIDS and abortions. Don’t be a part of the problem. Be part of the solution.